25/05/2010

Poland’s biggest film festival, Gdynia, is this year celebrating its 35th anniversary. This edition is also exceptional in that for the first time, the event is not taking place in autumn (September, to be precise). The organisers (Ministry of Culture, Polish Film Institute, Polish Filmmakers Association) have decided to permanently reschedule the festival to the month of May, this year from May 24-28.

In the official competition, audiences will have the chance to discover 20 titles, including new productions by well-known directors (Feliks Falk, Dorota Kędzierzawska, Janusz Kondratiuk, Juliusz Machulski, Jan Jakub Kolski, Jan Kidawa-Błoński), and works by young auteurs (Marcin Wrona, Marek Lechki, Ewa Stankiewicz, Anna Kazejak...). The contenders will be judged by a jury presided by Andrzej Barański (A Few People, a Little Time).

Fifteen titles will also be shown in the Panorama of Polish Cinema line-up, including the second part of the project Decalogue 89 + vol. 2. The latter was made by young directors to mark the 20th anniversary of Krzysztof Kieślowski’s series, on the impact of the Bible’s ten commandments on contemporary society.

As usual, the festival is also hosting an independent film competition and a competitive section entitled Young Cinema, which will present debut narrative works by film school students and young graduates. The jury for these two competitions is presided by Bartosz Konopka (Rabbit à la Berlin).

This 35th edition will also put the spotlight on Icelandic and Norwegian productions. The 12 titles presented (seven Icelandic and five Norwegian) have never been released in Poland.

The Golden Lions awards ceremony will be held on Saturday, May 28.

(Translated from French)